To Rekindle A Fire
by pa1ntap1cture
Summary: The battle has ended and the enemy has been vanquished. The line of Druin has survived but not without complications. Now with Thorin in a coma, Fili is forced to either accept or decline to take the throne. !Graphic injuries, !MuteFili. past rape, Durincest, !lovingprotectiveunclethorin, lots of durin feels Eventual Bard x Fili and Fili x Bard x Kili.
1. Chapter 1

**This is going to be a Bard x Fili / Fili x Kili x Bard fic in time. So be ready for some smutyness!**

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Bard wandered through the icy plains, still reddened with the blood of all those who's lives had been ended short.

This was the second day for the aftermath of the battle, yet they were still trying to clean up the corpses and search for possible survivors.

From what he had heard from the Dwarves of Erebor, Thorin Oakenshield had been found fatally injured and close to death. The small Hobbit that had been accompanying the dwarves had been cradling the dwarf in his arms trying to put pressure on a wound sustained to the king's abdomen.

The young dwarf Kili, the one who he had watched suffer in agony upon his dinner table before he had left to take care of Smaug, was found in poor shape as well.

In fact if it hadn't been for the two Elf Kings stumbling across him beside the unconscious elf maiden, Tauriel he would have been lost already.

King Thranduil of course had been immediate of turning a blind eye to the wounded prince, but the King of Rivendell it seems always has the opposite opinion when it comes to the Mirkwood king.

Thankfully Lord Elrond, was able to do some sort of freaky elf healing thing that they seem to do, and stopped him from bleeding out. Elrond still didn't expect the young archer to make it through the night due to the severity of the wounds.

Both he, and his uncle the King Under The Mountain himself were still in critical condition and had yet to awaken for more than ten minutes at a time, since they had arrived.

As for the other prince, his fate was yet unknown. Several of the dwarves went out searching for the golden haired dwarf but failed to find neither him nor a corpse if he were indeed dead.

Everyone had a feeling that they knew what happened to the young dwarf, Fili he believed had been his name, and a majority of the dwarves were already trying to accept it.

According to the one with the funny hat, they were hoping to find him by the time the moon rose tonight because they have yet to start rebuilding and there are plenty other's who need attention, so the search would likely be called off.

Bard remembered seeing the tears that had welled up in the happy go lucky man's eyes as he forced the words from his mouth.

Clearly the young prince was either a very loved companion, or something more than that to Bofur.

His thoughts were ended there as he took a glance at what he had come across near some of these collapsed ruins, his bow was instantly in his hands an arrow already loaded.

It looked like the remains of a recently put out orc camp, it had been hidden by all the broken pillars and debris, taking a look at the ground he studied the footprints from those giant beasts from Gundabad the scum rode upon.

 _'Definitely Warg prints, fresh too. They must have just retreated.'_

That wasn't surprising, since they'd been finding small groups of wounded orcs fleeing from hiding spots ever since the battle ended.

Apparently even they too were capable of being smart when it came to knowing when they were not capable of a fight.

The bowman turned abruptly to the left bow aimed upon hearing a small noise from a ruined building. It was a very faint noise, and he figured most would dismiss it but it was a noise none the less.

Cautiously taking a step closer, he stepped inside the ruins, intending to glance about the room only to find himself looking down upon discovering that the floor had collapsed.

He glanced down the twelve-foot drop and frowned when he saw the faint puff of white from someone's breath, this is also what attracted his attention to blood trails, a discarded knife, and the back end of an arrow that had been snapped in half.

"Hello?" Bard called hesitantly.

A small rasp resounded in his ears, and the abrupt clatter of wood hitting stone was his reply.

The other end of the snapped arrow, minus the tip, rolled into his line of sight after it had been dropped, the middle of it stained with blood he noted.

"He... …. e... ….. re... ..." A series of coughs and loud gasping followed the weak plea.

So much trouble just to speak, the man knew that this person had been there for some time.

Keeping his bow in his hand he jumped down the hole, wincing a tad when he realized that this collapsed floor was a bigger drop than he had expected, causing his ankles to tingle just a little bit as they scolded him for the strain.

Now looking around the room, he turned around to where he had seen the signs of a person and what he saw made his heart clench with both relief and horror.

The golden haired dwarf, Fili the one who had been missing.

Sure enough there he sat propped up against the stone wall, his amour was strewn about next to him and he'd taken off his tunic leaving his trembling form vulnerable to the freezing cold.

He tossed his glance back down to the discarded hunting knife before walking over to pick it up, there seemed to be char marks upon the very top of the hilt.

The prince had an ugly, nasty burn on his left side and it wasn't until he noticed the small pile of wood from broken window panes and the ash from a long put out fire that he pieced together that the young dwarf had cauterized some serious wounds himself.

 _'How on earth did could he do that himself without revealing his location to that orc pack that was just here...?'_ he couldn't help but run the thought through his mind as he looked back to the body of the snapped arrow from before.

Frowning as a thought came to his mind, he silently walked over to retrieve it before Inspecting the wooden shaft.

Bard had already noted that there was plenty of blood covering the middle of it, however now that he had it in hand and had a better look at the wood, he could see several small notches appearing to be bite marks amongst the wooden shaft as well.

 _'Smart...'_ Bard mused, he was honestly a tad bit impressed.

The man of Laketown turned back around to focus his attention on the injured dwarf prince who hadn't said a word, he couldn't help but furrow his brow as he observed his behavior further.

He was holding a hand over the center of his neck, almost protectively from what he could see, both dried and fresh blood seeped beneath it staining his shaking fingers red.

The uneasy silence of the dwarf made him nervous, so he finally spoke.

"Master Fili. Many think you dead, we should get you back to Erebor, can you walk?" he inquired taking a step forward.

The young dwarf seemed to shield his injury more so as he approached him and finally Bard could see why.

He'd taken an arrow to the throat.

* * *

 **I hope you guys like this one! It's my second Hobbit fic that's on-going with Battle Scars!**

 _Emily_


	2. Chapter 2

Fíli opened his mouth to speak but instead erupted into a fit of coughs that forced specks of blood onto the floor.

 _'It must not be deep enough that he's unable to breathe.'_

Bard knelt in front of Fíli so he could be at eye-level before tentatively reaching for the dwarf's hand that was obscuring his view of the injury.

Instinctively the dwarf grabbed at his hand holding it tight, a wild panic shone brightly in those pleading eyes.

"At ease. I just want to see it." he reassured as best he could.

Fíli's grip on his arm slackened allowing the man of Laketown to gently take hold of the dwarf's other hand and pull it away carefully.

He prodded the pale skin a little bit before realizing that the arrowhead was embedded just barely underneath his flesh, he could see the tops of the arrow bindings.

 _'At least his neck isn't broken there would be no hope.'_

The sudden tremors that started to attack the dwarf's body snapped him from his thoughts, he pulled his fingers away meeting the dwarf's eyes with a sad smile and stood rising back to his full height.

"Can you walk Master dwarf?"

Fíli's brows narrowed as he started looking at various wounds marring his body, calculating whether or whether not he could or more should walk to the gates of Erebor in his condition.

Bard waited patiently watching the dwarf assess his injuries as he did so.

After a couple of moments Fíli tilted his face up to look at him and met his eyes again.

 _'I still can't believe how small some dwarves are, he's probably about as tall as Tilda.'_ the man thought upon noticing how the dwarf sat with his neck awkwardly posed just to look up at him.

He still gave no indication of an answer but instead looked rather reluctant to say anything.

Seeing Fíli's brow narrow slightly and the new position his jaw was set in, it took a moment for the man to recognize a pout and realized that it was pride more so than uncertainty holding the dwarf's tongue.

He waited for a moment thinking maybe Fíli would sway and ask for his help, unfortunately he wrong and was starting to get irritated when an angry glare formed upon the lad's face as he stared at the floor.

As he continued to wait he observed that though the unhappy scowl remained on his face, his blue eyes were slowly turning glassy as they welled up with tears of pain, and probably in the case of 'dwarf stubbornness' he wouldn't be surprised if frustration had a bit to do with them too.

 _'Oh for the love of- the stubbornness of dwarves certainly was not exaggerated! I see why Gandalf can get frustrated.'_

Bard let his eyes wander about the place again, he saw no way the dwarf would be able to climb up the eight-foot drop that he had just descended to get down to him. Not in his condition anyhow.

 _'Well actually... height may be an issue to get up that as it is.'_ he mused quietly.

With that last thought he mentally kicked himself, finally taking note that some folk were not as lucky as others.

As a boy he'd heard rumors and tales of dwarves.

Most of those stories spoke of them having a reputation for being driven power-houses when it came to battle.

That was very much true, he saw how the dwarves fought two days ago, and they just kept going. There was one dwarrow he saw take four arrows and kept hacking at orcs even if it proved difficult, in the end what killed him was a blade through his belly.

Only one tale had he heard that spoke otherwise, and he needn't mention it, he saw what that monster did to Laketown, nothing but ruin, death, and fire.

He didn't blame them for fleeing. No being in their right mind would take on that beast.

Honestly, he still thought himself mad to have actually ended the serpent with nothing but a black arrow. He still remembered staring into Bane's eyes when he released that arrow, seeing the tears shining brightly in his fear-stricken eyes, reflecting the gleam of the fire.

In truth hunting Smaug was one of the most terrifying experiences he'd ever been through, the only thing that kept him from fleeing was the soul fact that so many would die, and he couldn't let any harm come to his children.

The chaos had been overwhelming, you could feel the fear and anger radiating from the town when Smaug's shadow was cast upon the ground until he fell. People screaming, people dying, and the intense heat of searing hot flames that he could still feel just from the thought of them, and lastly the roar of the dragon himself.

The part that angered him the most, was that these dwarves unleashed that beast upon them.

Smaug had attacked Laketown with all his ruthless fury and that seemingly unyielding power, and in the end Laketown was completely swallowed by the flames and the death count was stomach churning, but at least his children made it out alive.

Those are some of the many things that he knew he will never forget.

His eyes flicked back to the young prince again, seeing two silent tears rolling down his blood and dirt covered cheeks, and he let out a weary sigh, kneeling before the dwarf as he spoke.

"There's no shame in needing assistance master dwarf."

Fierce blue eyes partially hidden behind long lashes from the downward tilt of his head, directed a vicious glare up at him.

However it soon fell abruptly and concern replaced it.

The golden-haired dwarf's eyes shifted over toward his right side where he eyed the dark ashes from the extinguished fire.

Fíli scooped two handfuls of ash up and spread them in a patch beside him til the pile was level with the ground, while the bowman watched with growing confusion.

 _'What on earth is he-?'_ Bard's thoughts cut off when Fíli started tracing a finger on the ground in squiggles, and he realized that he was using them to try to communicate.

Bard watched almost expecting the lad to be writing a declination or an insult, but that wasn't the case.

"Kíli." the man read aloud.

'Why did he write tha- oh wait...'

When Bard failed to answer right away, Fíli thought maybe he had misunderstood what he meant and added a question mark after his brother's name, and stared pleadingly at the man with nothing but desperateness.

"Your brother lives, Fíli. As does your King." He replied offering a reassuring smile.

A grin formed on the dwarf's face before a rough coughing fit took hold, and when it ended he was left wheezing and gasping for air.

The dwarf lifted his head and now Bard could see fresh blood flowing past his lips to dribble down his chin into his beard.

"They've sent parties out looking for you since the battle ended several times, your brother and uncle do not know that you are missing. They are both still in serious condition, and haven't been able to hold a conversation due to fatigue from what I am told."

When the son of man didn't get a response from the dwarf prince he continued speaking.

"You understand? No one had been able to locate you, if you do not accept my help and I leave you here, you will die."

Again silence.

"I've see how you and your brother fight to keep the other safe. My daughter told me you fought orcs bare handed when he had been poisoned and was unable to defend himself due to the illness. I'm sure he's protected you in other situations and you've always done so because that's what it means to be brothers. How do you think Kíli will take your death? He was on the battlefield with you and your uncle, he was there and he wasn't. He will blame himself for something that was not in any way his fault. You know this. Do you want to put him through that?"

Fíli's azure blue eyes blinked tiredly, but he could tell by the trembling of his lip that he had understood.

Finally praise the creators, the dwarf nodded and raised both arms up so he could pull him to his feet.

Bard smiled softly, and hoisted the blond up setting him down carefully on his feet.

As soon as he was standing a wave of dizziness swarmed Fíli's head, and he realized that breathing became a lot more difficult as opposed to when he was sitting.

His legs buckled beneath him but Bard must have seen this because he didn't hit the ground and instead was scooped up into the man's arms.

Fíli had to take a moment to register all of that, and once he had he started squirming irritated with being carried, and being picked up in such a manner.

"Sorry, but I do not recommend carrying you on my back, we don't want that getting pushed in your throat any further, and that might very well cause that with this rugged terrain."

The dwarf let out a silent huff and stilled, he figured if he closed his eyes he wouldn't have to deal with the embarrassment of being carried like a wee dwarfling and the fact that he looked like a child, or a human one due to the size comparison.

He also figured that if he fell asleep, when he woke he'd see his brother's goofy grin staring down at him, and he wanted more than anything to see that at least once more.

* * *

 **I want to apologize for the update spam, I've recently moved back to but mostly I'm on AO3 these days. Most of these new chapters have been completed for some time and I hadn't posted them on here yet.**

 **Enjoy!**


	3. Chapter 3

The hike back to Erebor was blessed with a bit of a challenge now with the burden in his arms. Fíli had drifted off to sleep about twenty minutes ago and he was actually thankful that the dwarf had stripped himself of the heavy armor earlier it made carrying the small dwarf a lot easier.

Bard paused in his steps when he felt the body in his arms shudder and it was only now that he suddenly realized it had started snowing again.

Fíli had stripped himself of all of his upper clothing in order to cauterize a wound in his side and he hadn't even thought to see if he could get his tunic back on before they left which he wished he had now.

Now he was having a mental debate with himself on whether to turn back, since they had not gotten all that terribly far from the pit the lad was trapped in.

He glanced down when he felt Fíli subconsciously try to curl into his chest, instinctively seeking the warmth that radiated off his body.

No, they had to get him to a healer as soon as possible, if they waited for too long to do something about the arrow stuck in his throat he could very well die. It was a miracle he'd managed to keep going this long, and from what he could tell the arrowhead was still in removable condition but he did not want to take chances.

Bard made up his mind, and carefully lowered himself to a kneel before setting Fíli on the ground as gently as he could, hoping he wouldn't wake him.

He let out a breath when he found the dwarf appearing to still be asleep, and started to take off his coat.

 _'He's weak enough I do not need him being lost to the cold.'_

Being mindful of his injuries, the man eased Fíli's upper body up until he was propped up against his lower stomach and proceeded to shrug a sleeve onto the dwarf's right arm.

The man couldn't help letting his eyes explore the dwarf's half-naked body for a moment.

He noted that not one inch of his body was soft, most of it if not all of it was sheer muscle. He was very built despite his small appearance.

Amongst his pale skin if you ignored the self-treated wounds, there were some old scars as well the light trails of golden tufts decorating his chest, lower abdomen, and down past his waistline.

He also noted a tattoo of something in what he would assume were dwarven ruins on his left shoulder.

Bard pulled his eyes away at that moment, deciding he needed to use time wisely at the moment.

Fíli furrowed his brow feeling someone handling him and opened his eyes, he was outside in the snow.

How in Durin's name did he get out here?

He suddenly realized that he could not see the person who had their hands on him, which meant they must be behind him, and he jerked violently with a frustrated cry.

Bard hadn't heard the dwarf wake, so needless to say he hadn't been expecting the dwarf's shoulders to seize abruptly when he took hold of his left arm.

"Easy, it's alright." the man hushed, making sure to lean forward so the dwarf could see his face above him.

Fíli paused, he was sure he recognized that voice and he needn't think on it long because he saw the bowman's face come into view when he glanced upward.

Things started to come back to him now and he calmed to glance up questioningly.

"It is starting to snow Master Fíli and we seemed to have forgotten you tunic in that place." Bard explained, lifting the dwarf's left arm again to pull it through the sleeve as best he could given the dwarf's much shorter arms.

The golden-haired lad blinked slowly, trying to take in the words and actions feeling his heart start beating furiously.

 _'Why?'_ he thought quietly, drowsiness starting to become noticeable once more.

Bard gave him a reassuring smile once he had his fur lined coat on the young dwarf, giving him a warning as he picked him up once more.

"Your people will be happy to see you alive. They have been very worried, my daughter has been talking with them frequently, she became very fond of you and your brother for protecting her and her siblings."

There was a pause as the bowman thought for a moment.

"And I have not quite had a chance to thank you for that Master Fíli, so I do so now." he continued glancing down at the dwarf, meeting the sparkling azure blue eyes that stared up at him.

Fíli gave a small snort that sounded almost amused and toothless smile formed on his lips, giving him a slight nod of acknowledgment.

The Master of Laketown smirked, looking around he could see the ruins of Dale coming into view.

Not liking the tense silence he continued speaking.

"The elf prince Legolas actually spoke up against King Thranduil."

The dwarf's eyes widened with disbelief and immediately shot up an almost accusingly, his attention earned as a he let out a snort.

"I do not jest, King Thranduil had gotten news of your disappearance and his rivalry with your uncle made him stubbornly decide, that he was not to send any elves to search for you nor corpse for proper burial."

Fíli rolled his eyes, that sounded like those two Kings for you. Mahal his uncle could be such a pain but Thranduil could be just as bad. So moody.

"Young Legolas was appalled by his father's claim as he is most of the time but clearly he will not say anything. He finally had enough and argued to the point that Thranduil let him help the elf-maiden Tauriel search for you."

The dwarf wheezed a bit to try to keep himself from laughing too much as it irritated his throat, but he did let out a couple snorts.

"Here I thought dwarfs could throw the worst temper tantrums I was clearly very wrong. The fuss from Legolas and the venting of King Thranduil after his son was dismissed."

Fíli snorted again, and let out what sounded like a weak chuckle. He didn't want to risk the dwarf straining the wound any further so he stopped the jest there.

"Just remind me later that I owe Thorin an apology for the claim earlier, would you?" Bard inquired with a smirk.

Another snort and Fíli lifted an arm and gave him a thumbs up, so he didn't have to shift his neck any more than he had to, he also flashed a grin revealing blood specking white teeth.

"Right then." Bard chuckled, continuing his hike in silence.

Fíli yawned suddenly, eyes drooping slightly as he realized that the warmth from Bard's coat was starting to make his exhaustion very noticeable.

Before Bard had shown up, he had been awake ever since the floor had collapsed in those ruins.

The rummaging about just trying to find something to use for fire wood was a strain as it was because he had been losing blood gradually.

Remaining orcs had shown up around the ruins not long after he had pried old window panes and a chair apart to use for the fire.

He remembered that two wargs had caught his scent, one having caught scent of his blood and came wandering around to investigate, the other while he was cauterizing the injury after he had let out a scratchy scream that he had tried to keep stifled behind the shaft of the arrow he had been hit with.

The second one almost saw him and if he had not snuffed out that fire with his tunic, and pursed his lips around the wooden shaft biting as hard as he could, it would have.

It took so much self-control just remaining quiet for that whole experience, but after he had cauterized the wound he had forced himself to stay awake because the orc pack was still above him.

Bard watched Fíli struggle with consciousness and while he wanted to tell him not to fall asleep at the same time he couldn't, the lad was exhausted after all he'd been through a lot the past two days and likely weeks beforehand with his Uncle pressing them for time.

With a sigh he paused in his tracks and felt at Fíli's neck.

Immediately eyes blew wide and stared at him with panic and uncertainty until he realized Bard was just checking his pulse.

The bowman gave him another reassuring smile when he felt the steady beat against his fingers, it felt normal not like most who are actually on the verge of death, with a satisfied sigh he pulled his hand way and continued walking.

"I am no expert medic Master Fíli, but if you need to rest I think you needn't worry. You're lively enough and we shall be there soon. I know you must be exhausted."

Fíli was hesitant at first, but as fatigue became more and more difficult to ignore he found himself drifting off in the man's arms.

Bard couldn't help the smirk that crossed his features when he eventually felt Fíli's head of golden curls slump against his shoulder as he lost his battle with exhaustion.

 _'That is absolutely adorable. Wait... did I just say adorable?'_

Bard shook his head of such thoughts as he finally stepped onto the paved path that was the start of the entrance to the Dale ruins, he hadn't realized talking had passed so much time.

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The pictures that inspired this story can be found in chapter 3 of the story posted on my AO3 account. The name is FiliAtYourService. I have to give you the user name because we all love how doesn't let you post links. :D


	4. Chapter 4

Of course the only way to reach to the reach the front gates of Erebor was to pass through Dale. Bard deflated a little, he had wanted to keep the wounded prince out of sight until he managed to get the dwarf back to his people.

 _'I suppose there is really no way around it'_ he thought quietly.

The bow man let out a sigh and started to walk once more.

"Lord Bard."

It wouldn't have mattered if the voice were softer than it already was, the bow man jumped in surprise at the undetected presence, the reaction earned him a small whine of protest from the sleeping dwarf in his arms.

"I'm sorry." he whispered down apologetically to the still dormant dwarf.

Slowly Bard turned around and found both Lord Elrond and Prince Legolas approaching him.

 _'Well, I could have run into worse people actually.'_ he mused.

Both elves seemed to halt their footsteps when they saw who exactly the son of man was carrying.

Bard found it rather amusing that elves could be completely stoic about nearly everything and sometimes when you expected them not to react at all, they did.

Legolas's eyes had blown wide, but the bow man quickly realized that the elf wasn't shocked that it was the young prince, but more so he was already assessing his injuries, and spotted the arrow wound to the dwarf's throat.

Elrond regained his composure as soon as he had lost it, and calmly closed the gap between them with his natural long stride.

The human silently watched as elven king placed his left hand upon the dwarf's temple, and closed his eyes in what appeared to be concentration.

Legolas had by this time snapped out of his surprise and was standing behind Elrond, waiting as the King of Rivendell checked the dwarf over.

Elrond opened his eyes suddenly revealing a bit of bewilderment that turned to relief, pulling his hand away when he saw two blue eyes staring back up at him.

Fili was taking in his surroundings, he had already noted Bard and remembered that they were heading back to Erebor, obviously he had already seen Elrond who towered over the bow man himself and of course himself, picked up or not.

Then his eyes landed on Legolas and the man's story from earlier came to his thoughts, he couldn't help but let out a snort.

Bard and the armor clad elf both cast their eyes down at the dwarf questioningly.

The bow man was able to catch the direction the prince had his eyes turned to, before they turned upwards and shifted from Lord Elrond, to Bard.

Elrond's face of course was completely stoic, as he stood silently watching him and casting a quick glance at the bow man who was too busy trying to figure out what the dwarf scoffed at, so he cast his attention back down at the dwarf waiting patiently.

Bard however...

He caught the confused yet intrigued look on Bard's face, furrowed eyebrows lifting with silent question.

Filli did not know why, but the sight of Bard's look of stupor, Elrond's perfect composure, face void of any emotion, and Prince Legolas' with his confused or more quickly growing irritated scowl, greatly amused him.

Another snort, his shoulders were shaking as he tried extremely hard to restrain himself. The only think keeping him from laughing right now was the fact that he still had an arrow lodged in his throat and he wanted to move his neck no more than necessary.

Bard shot the Rivendell King an confused glance but the reluctant smile that the man was trying to keep off his face made it obvious he was more amused than anything.

Fili watched as Bard turned his attention to Elrond, that puzzled yet for some reason smug look on his face, and arched an eyebrow in question as to if the elf knew what was so funny.

The sight of Bard the Bowman, Bard the Dragon Slayer, with one eyebrow raised and the other half-narrowed, was so damn hilarious, because it was so out of character.

He bit his tongue as he let out a couple poorly restrained giggles, wincing at the dull throbbing the action caused him.

Finally he managed to calm himself casting his eyes back up at them, the corners of his mouth lifting into a cheeky smile.

Bard melted at the face, the golden son of Durin's smile was absolutely adorable, whether he shot a wide grin or even just a smirk. Then of course there were those beautiful blue eyes staring back up them, they certainly didn't make him look any more viscous.

He found himself smiling back down at the cheeky face, and he was a bit surprised to see Lord Elrond send the dwarf a warm friendly smile in return as well.

"Luck seems to be on your side Prince Fili." he spoke calmly, Fili just blinked and nodded slowly.

"Elrond." Bard ackowledged with a polite bow of his head before he turned his back to them, getting ready to head up to the dwarven city.

"Would you like me to inform the other dwarves?" Legolas offered.

Bard glanced over at the blond elf for a moment, pondering over that thought for a moment before he shook his head.

"No, that won't be necessary Prince Legolas. I was going to take him up there myself. Thank you." Bard finished with a grateful nod.

The elf nodded in response and turned to Elrond who watched the bowman's back retreat down the pathway through Dale.

"How did he look to you?" the younger elf questioned as he came to stand beside him.

Elrond turned his head to give Legolas his attention, he seemed to have to think for a brief moment before the blond received a response.

"I think he will be fine, young Legolas. I do think that the dwarfling is extremely lucky. If that shot could have been any more precise, he would have lost his ability to breath. That arrow tip needs to be removed immediately before it can do any non-repairable damage."

Legolas nodded silently having registered what was just said, he turned his back and went off in search for his companion and quite possibly try to avoid his father for at least one more evening.


	5. Chapter 5

_Fíli let out another vicious shout as he swung his sword again, hacking an orc's head from it's shoulders._

 _He looked around frantically around the chaotic battlefield for his uncle and his brother, they had gotten split up shortly after the three entered the bloodshed._

 _Kili and him had taken the tunnels to scout, and indeed an army they found._

 _Both of them barely had time to retreat out of the way to warn Thorin before the entire dam broke lose, Orcs were pooling out of the lower tunnels, the ones from the upper levels coming at them from both sides._

 _He and Kili fought side by side as they normally have, and after some time Dwalin was able to reach them to help._

 _Since then the three of them had been able to hold the front from this end, while Thorin had saught out Azog._

 _At one point the orcs were becoming overwhelming, and for fear of his brother's life being taken, Fíli had come up beside him and Dwalin, and shoved his brother off the edge of the third story of the building so that he and Dwaliin could work without having to be worried non-stop._

 _His brother was a skilled fighter, but he hadn't gotten the extensive training that Thorin put him through being his first heir._

 _It was actually kind of funny, Kili landed onto the first floor where Tauriel and the elf prince had been fighting the orcs together, and he landed right in between them with a loud thud, before getting to his feet and was now swearing at him in Khuzdul._

" _Run Kili! Go! I will not see my only brother slain in combat, go!" he shouted angrily, looking around for their uncle._

 _Finally he spotted Thorin battling Azog head on, and he swallowed thickly. His uncle appeared to be doing fine by himself, but he couldn't help the feeling that today would end badly._

 _Kili. He needed to get to find Kili._

 _He wheeled around with his sword angled to block an oncoming attack, the sound of iron clashing against iron sparked through his ears before he even registered his opponent._

 _When his eyes glanced up to his attacker however, he felt a feeling of unease._

 _Bolg._

 _Azog's son was seemingly just as bad when it came to brutality, and equally skilled with his father when it came down to combat. Add his size onto that and you have a killing machine._

 _The orc's lips pulled back to reveal an ugly jagged smile as he pulled his blade back to swing again at the dwarf's feet, trying to take the ground from underneath him._

 _Despite his brutish strength, Fíli's smaller body was faster when he hopped over the blade and quickly jumped backwards._

 _They clashed for what seemed like eternity before Fíli found Bolg's sword, slashing at an upward angle to take off his head._

 _The dwarf tried to counter, ducking underneath Bolg's arm with his blade aiming to stab the orc in the side, only to get a steel covered elbow to the back of his head sending him sprawling to the ground on his stomach._

 _He quickly turned over, grabbing a random shield from the body of a fallen elf to block an on-coming attack._

 _The tip of Bolg's sword came through the shield before it stopped, Fíli let out a breath realizing the sword appeared more stuck than Bolg thought because he struggled to pull for a moment._

 _Taking this as an advantage, Fíli braced one foot on the back of the steel before giving it a rough kick as he let go._

 _'Praise Mahal!' Fíli thought as the blade was wrenched from Bolg's grasp when the shield was knocked away from the impact._

 _Both the shield and the Bolg's sword landed about ten feet away._

 _Apparently the orc didn't need a weapon as his hand darted down and grabbed a handful of golden hair to hoist him off the ground, before he could reach for his own sword._

 _Before he knew it he was hurled through the air, and sent crashing into the side of some of the ruined building structures, where he hit with a very audible thud before he slid to the ground, almost falling off the top of the old stairway._

 _Fíli's head was spinning from the impact he'd made with the stone, he felt unconsciousness calling his name as he struggled to keep his eyes open, even as Bolg's figure was soon looming above his own._

" _Arrrrgggh!"_

 _Fíli's eyes snapped open when at the sound of an furious angry war cry that sounded an awful lot like..._

 _'Aule! Oh please Kili no, get out of here. I told you to run!'_

 _A strangled cry came from above him and sure enough, there was Kili standing above him._

 _It wasn't Kili who had cried out in pain however._

 _Bolg's right hand released a knife that fell to the floor, and Fíli realized that Kili had stabbed the orc straight through his right shoulder._

" _By my life, you will not take my brother. Do you hear me orc scum!?" Kili's angry voice echoed through his ears._

 _Fíli tried to get himself to his hands and knees, but as soon as he moved a searing hot pain shot through his left side._

 _Gritting his teeth, thinking of the possibility of broken ribs he reached down and he had to admit he was surprised to see crimson soaking his hand._

 _Had he been stabbed?_

 _'I didn't feel anything...'_

 _He didn't have time to investigate when the orc sneered at his brother's comment, his left arm whipping upward to deliver a backhand to Kili's face that knocked him to the ground from the sheer force behind the blow._

 _Fíli's couldn't help the panic that started to rise immediately, the fool should have run. "Kili!"_

 _Kili's sword had remained in the orc's body, and Fíli watched helplessly as Bolg took that moment to wrench the blade out of his shoulder and used it to stab Kili through his lower abdomen._

 _A strangled cry erupted from his lips, and Fíli's eyes widened considerably when his brother fell to the ground beside him._

 _Bolg let out a sickening laugh, as forced himself to rise letting out a choked scream at that sharp pain that filled his body, before kneeling over his brother's fallen body._

 _Legolas and Tauriel had reached the third level by now, and quickly spotted the two princes on the ground they immediately moved to intercept the giant gundabad orc._

 _Legolas seemed to be getting Bolg's attention more and more, wanting to settle the score he'd had with the elf from what happened in Laketown._

 _Fíli let out a relieved breath when the orc decided to clash with the elves, he sent Tauriel an appreciating nod as she knelt beside him and Kili._

 _Tears flowed freely from the blond's eyes as he gathered Kili into his arms, holding him tenderly against him._

" _Y-You stupid stubborn dwarf Kee! I-I told you … to run, Kili!" he cried desperately, while Tauriel started to put pressure on the wound._

 _If he had not of been injured, Fíli would have clocked his brother upside the head when Kili responded with a shit-eating grin._

" _Oy! I-I did! I ran up the stairs!" he cried, grimacing slightly._

 _Fíli opened his mouth to berate him again, but it just hung open not quite knowing what to say._

 _He couldn't help it, a strangled sob escaped his throat as he stared back down at him, Kili. His baby brother._

 _'I failed you Kili.' the thoughts in his head brought the tears forth and they were soon springing from his blue eyes in pints._

 _Kili's grin fell, and he let out a huff before a pained smile replaced it._

" _No... don't cry Fíli." Kili whispered, reaching a hand up to wipe his brother's tears away._

" _Hush!" Fíli hissed sharply, before he sniffed before leaning forward and kissing his temple, **"Men lananubukhs menu."**_

 _Tauriel watched the exchange curiously, but gave her attention to Fíli when the dwarf addressed her suddenly._

" _My lady, Take him elsewhere? Make sure he's safe, please?" he asked hesitantly._

 _The elf-maiden took a look at her comrade who was dealing with Bolg just fine, then back at the wounded dwarf beside her and nodded, scooping Kili up in her arms with ease before raising to her full height looking down at him._

" _What about you?"_

 _Fili didn't reply, he just shook his head and gave her a smile. "Someone's got to babysit my uncle."_

 _Kili let out a loud 'Ha' at the comment about their uncle before going quiet once more._

" _I'll be alright." Fili urged, though honestly he was trying to reassure himself mostly as he forced himself to a stand._

 _With one last nod of acknowledgment, Tauriel took off and the young dwarf turned around to figure out which direction Thorin and Azog had disappeared in._

 _The orcs were thinning out, they'd been fighting most of the day and he actually questioned as to if his uncle still stood at this point._

 _Forcing his feet to move he started wandering through the ice covered plains, now slaying orcs only if he was attacked first, if anything else he was trying to avoid them. At this point he was wanting nothing more than to be certain if their king was still alive or not._

 _Finally he found them, they were at a rather desolate spot their battle having dragged out about a mile's distance away from the main areas of carnage._

 _Darting into the remnants of a weathered structure of what appeared to be one of the demolished homes in what was once Dale, he hid behind the wall making a scout for any archers or spear throwing units in the cliffs._

 _The thing with orcs is rarely do not fight dirty. Half of the time all their moves were dirty tricks and he was more than certain that Azog would have an archer ready if he needed to take Thorin out immediately._

 _Sure enough he saw one lone orc amongst the cliff above Azog, bow in hand._

 _Keeping his composure, Fíli poked his head back out of the structure remembering he'd seen some slain elves amongst the corpses outside._

 _Needless to say, with the army numbers and the amount of corpses that littered the ground for miles, it wasn't difficult to find a weapon if one needed to._

 _That was the case when like he'd been hoping, one of the two elves, a black haired elf-maiden, had a bow and a quiver not too far from where she lay._

 _Approaching the corpse quietly he resisted the urge to vomit, as he pulled the bow from her hand._

 _Green eyes stared up at the sky, glassy and the light void of any existence._

 _Fíli closed his eyes taking a shaky breath he reached a hand down toward the she-elf's face to press her eyelids closed, before he picked up the quiver._

 _He retreated back into the structure, to the back where there was a gap from years of weathering stone._

 _Loading an arrow, he positioned his stance as he pulled back the draw string, taking a brief moment to clear his head._

 _Whilst Kili had a knack for his shooting skills, he like Thorin was at an average skill. It's funny too because Thorin taught Kili how to shoot and he became better at it than their uncle was._

 _'Even though the stubborn dwarf wouldn't admit to it.' Fíli thought with a small smile when the memory popped in his head._

 _Taking a deep breath, he released squeezing his eyes shut afterwards, praying that his arrow would make its mark._

 _Hearing a loud screech echo in the air, he poked his head up and didn't see the orc._

 _'Yes!'_

 _Something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye and before could react he felt a sharp pain in the center of his throat and he fell backward hitting the wall with some force as he lost his balance, he heard a deep rumbling sound and the ground was shaking!_

 _Then it all went black._

 **~XXX~**

Bard let out a relieved sigh when the gates of Erebor came into view after he'd trudged up the side if the mountain carrying the young dwarf prince in his arms the entire way as he did so.

Fíli had fallen asleep again not long after they escaped from the ruins of Dale, managing to finally pass through the city without interruptions.

 _'Now all that is left is to walk up these stairs! Yay stairs! So many stairs, why did the dwarves make so many damn stairs just to enter a castle? Sophisticated dwarves, creators why?'_

He glanced down, when Fíli twitched in his restless sleep, his lips moving in a raspy mumble of something.

 _'He must be dreaming.'_

* * *

Notes:

1.) **"Men lananubukhs menu."**

I believe from what I've looked up with the Dwarrow Scholar dictionary, is "I love you" again as in previous notes I MIGHT BE WRONG!

2.) The 'run / run stairs' conversation bewteen Fili and Kili was inspired by someone on tumblr, I'll find the blog and link it in here when I find it so I can use it as a source.


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